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and you know i'm qualified for this job to be the head of the pentagon, defense secretary. it was almost like he was stunned by it. your thoughts. >> i think you're right. i think it was very personal. i was stunned by it, too. especially the way mccain kept pursuing it and pursuing it. clearly, john wanted chuck to say yes, i was wrong and you were right. and of course the verdict of history, as hagel tried to say, is still out on that. and frankly, in my view as a soldier, the surge had almost nothing to do with the actual increase in american troops. what it had to do was the coincidence of a number of things that were already moving in iraq. not least of which was the aw e awak awakening. and it had to do with very frankly a general by the name of david petraeus taking advantage of this in order to enhance his own reputation. and as far as i'm concerned, the increase in troops had nothing to do with the change in the situation in iraq except that it got a bunch of them killed, as senator hagel was careful to point out. >> and that is paralleling his opening comments, wh
and you know i'm qualified for this job to be the head of the pentagon, defense secretary. it was almost like he was stunned by it. your thoughts. >> i think you're right. i think it was very personal. i was stunned by it, too. especially the way mccain kept pursuing it and pursuing it. clearly, john wanted chuck to say yes, i was wrong and you were right. and of course the verdict of history, as hagel tried to say, is still out on that. and frankly, in my view as a soldier, the surge had...
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Feb 6, 2013
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. >>> on the heels of the boy scouts decision, the pentagon is announcing a policy shift for guy service members and partners. leon panetta expected to extend benefits to partners of personnel. it remains doubtful that medical, down theal and housing allowances are offered under the new proposal. an extension of those benefits require the repeal of the 1996 defense of marriage act. >>> here's a first look this morning at your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>> the president should be used to cameras snapping away at him in the white house. but he read a statement about the economic plan he reacted to the distraction. >> what's up, cameraman? come on, guys. they're breaking my flow all the time. >> the white house released a photo yesterday of the president working with aides on a speech. coincidentally, the chief speechwriter seen on the right is leaving the white house. he's going to be taking his writing skills to hollywood. >>> a new action figure of president obama is on sale showing him with a shotgun. perfect for skeet shooting. >>> dick morris left fox news after an amazing s
. >>> on the heels of the boy scouts decision, the pentagon is announcing a policy shift for guy service members and partners. leon panetta expected to extend benefits to partners of personnel. it remains doubtful that medical, down theal and housing allowances are offered under the new proposal. an extension of those benefits require the repeal of the 1996 defense of marriage act. >>> here's a first look this morning at your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>>...
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Feb 1, 2013
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two days after that, he changed the pentagon policy and announced that rape allegations would be moved out of the direct line of command that has been so successful of suppressing these ago gations and each branch of the military will have a special unit for these allegations. this is something that the secretary of defense has the power to do on his own authority. but most senators have no interest in that. in this rape crisis in the american military and they wasted their time today talking about policy questions that have nothing to do with being secretary of defense. joining me now alex wagner and eugene robinson. >> alex, in our military today, women are actually putting their lives at risk simply bien listing. and we have to sit there today and watch the senators wander all over today about policies that have nothing to do with being secretary of defense when they have this crime crisis right in front of them. >> the reasons for that are two-fold. one is violence perpetrated against women have been ignored by the congress of recent years. the violence against women act has not be
two days after that, he changed the pentagon policy and announced that rape allegations would be moved out of the direct line of command that has been so successful of suppressing these ago gations and each branch of the military will have a special unit for these allegations. this is something that the secretary of defense has the power to do on his own authority. but most senators have no interest in that. in this rape crisis in the american military and they wasted their time today talking...
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Feb 8, 2013
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the pentagon is taking the brunt of these cuts. certainly the commander in chief doesn't want that to happen. a ton of democrats are quite fine with seeing pentagon spending cuts. so, you know, it's sort of like nobody really wants it to happen but both sides are sort of okay with it. >> to the point of who might have the upper hand, charles krauthammer wrote this. obama's bluff is being called and he's the desperate water. what should they do? nothing. cheryl, there are others who are saying that if this happens, at least we get those cuts. what's the feeling on capitol hill right now? >> well, i think there are some republicans who are fairly public about the fact that they do not want to see the seek questions sister cuts go through. a lot of these republicans represent the heavy military presence, a the lo lot of defen contractors in their area. generally ryan is right, they don't want to see the cuts go through but they are kind of preparing for it, that this is going to happen. they view the president's offer for tax increase
the pentagon is taking the brunt of these cuts. certainly the commander in chief doesn't want that to happen. a ton of democrats are quite fine with seeing pentagon spending cuts. so, you know, it's sort of like nobody really wants it to happen but both sides are sort of okay with it. >> to the point of who might have the upper hand, charles krauthammer wrote this. obama's bluff is being called and he's the desperate water. what should they do? nothing. cheryl, there are others who are...
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spending cuts at federal agencies including the pentagon are said to hit on march 1st. later that month, a major funding bill expires. the debt ceiling fight will resurface in the summer. >>> new polls showing the nra's opposition to reforming certain gun laws isn't registering with the american public. according to polling, more than 90% of voters in three states say they support wider background checks for people buying weapons at gun shows. that includes voters who live in households with a gun. when it comes to the question of armed police in schools, more voters in virginia, new jersey, and pennsylvania support the idea than oppose it. the board of education in new it is town, connecticut, is requesting funding for armed police officers in four elementary schools for the next school year. in chicago, meanwhile, mayor rahm emanuel is moving 200 officers from desk duty to the streets amid the city's most violent months in decades. 42 people have been murdered this year including 15-year-old who was shot dead this week while hanging out with friends in a park. >> when
spending cuts at federal agencies including the pentagon are said to hit on march 1st. later that month, a major funding bill expires. the debt ceiling fight will resurface in the summer. >>> new polls showing the nra's opposition to reforming certain gun laws isn't registering with the american public. according to polling, more than 90% of voters in three states say they support wider background checks for people buying weapons at gun shows. that includes voters who live in...
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Feb 7, 2013
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in congress who have done little to avoid the across the board spepdinding cuts that will slash the pentagon budget. >> this is not a game. this is reality. these steps would seriously damage a fragile american economy and they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe. this is no way to govern the united states of america. this budgetary crisis creates uncertainty. it creates doubt and most importantly from my point of view, it undermines the men and women in uniform who are willing to put their lives on the line in order to protect this country. >> those planned budget cuts are part of the sequestration deal agreed to by congress as part of annest to force compromise on the national debt. house speaker john boehner says although he opposes the automatic cuts, republicans are not willing to back a plan that involves new tax revenue as the president has called for. >> i don't like the sequester. i think it's taking a meat ax to our government. a meat ax to many programs and it will weaken our national defense. now that's why i f
in congress who have done little to avoid the across the board spepdinding cuts that will slash the pentagon budget. >> this is not a game. this is reality. these steps would seriously damage a fragile american economy and they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe. this is no way to govern the united states of america. this budgetary crisis creates uncertainty. it creates doubt and most importantly from my point of view,...
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Feb 8, 2013
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that this sequester is -- because of its sort of blunder bust approach that it does not permit the pentagon to make intelligent choices about what is needed, so it is going to get to readiness. ready city council what we need. >> this is the absurdness of washington. >> the white house proposed th-- >> proposing to get agreement on this. now the new strategy is, yeah, but you can't let that sequester happen because the spending cuts would be so awful when, in fact, there are democrats like dick durbin who will be on the program sunday who have said he doesn't really have a problem with the amount of spending cuts in the pentagon. it's a matter of how you go about doing it. republicans i think also have some leverage here by saying, you know, if you really get us down to it, if have to swallow these spending cuts, we're going take them because that might be good. you got your revenues there. zoolt sequester, we don't like it, but before it on. >> there's a lot of pain. particularly if are you from virginia and you have military cuts coming down your way, this is tough. spending cuts are toug
that this sequester is -- because of its sort of blunder bust approach that it does not permit the pentagon to make intelligent choices about what is needed, so it is going to get to readiness. ready city council what we need. >> this is the absurdness of washington. >> the white house proposed th-- >> proposing to get agreement on this. now the new strategy is, yeah, but you can't let that sequester happen because the spending cuts would be so awful when, in fact, there are...
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Feb 7, 2013
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the pentagon says it will reduce the naval presence in the persian gulf. plans for the uss harry truman carrier to head to the gulf this week have been canceled. that would leave one carrier in the region. defense secretary leon panetta warns under the cuts pentagon workers could face furloughs saying, this is not a game this is reality. >>> vice president joe biden made an emotional appeal to house democrats last night urging them to support the obama administration's gun control agenda. biden choked up while speaking about the recent tragedy at sandy hook and recounted examples of 1600 deaths since that day. his tone turned emphatic reminding audience as their obligation as lawmakers to act. >> when people tell me that you can't prevent these kinds of occurrences, that doesn't mean we can't do something to god forbid if it happens again diminish the carnage. it matters. it matters. >> speaking to those worried about the political consequences of backing controversial gun legislation, biden argued "i promise you, times have changed." >>> new jersey govern
the pentagon says it will reduce the naval presence in the persian gulf. plans for the uss harry truman carrier to head to the gulf this week have been canceled. that would leave one carrier in the region. defense secretary leon panetta warns under the cuts pentagon workers could face furloughs saying, this is not a game this is reality. >>> vice president joe biden made an emotional appeal to house democrats last night urging them to support the obama administration's gun control...
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the plan had received support from the pentagon, the cia, secretary clinton. but ultimately it was the white house that turned down the idea. >> both of you agreed with petraeus and clinton that we should start looking at military assistance in syria, is that correct? >> that was our position. i do want to say, senator, that obviously there were a number of factors that were reversed here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal. i supported his decision in the end. but the answer to your question is yes. >> for both of you? >> yes. >> "the wall street journal" says the white house was concerned about which rebels could be trusted with arms. was also worried about the risk of drawing the united states into another military conflict. but it was questions over benghazi that led to the most heated moments with secretary panetta and general dempsey defending the administration's response to the deadly raid on the u.s. consulate. >> for you to testify that our posture would not allow a rapid response, our posture was not there because we
the plan had received support from the pentagon, the cia, secretary clinton. but ultimately it was the white house that turned down the idea. >> both of you agreed with petraeus and clinton that we should start looking at military assistance in syria, is that correct? >> that was our position. i do want to say, senator, that obviously there were a number of factors that were reversed here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal. i supported his decision...
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Feb 8, 2013
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while being grilled by the senate armed services committee, had any onpanetta strongly defended the pentagon's response to the benghazi attack that left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead. panetta told lawmakers there just wasn't enough time to get u.s. forces or attack aircraft to the scene. >>> today president obama will speak at a military farewell service for panetta. >>> michelle obama plans to travel to chicago to attend tomorrow's funeral for 15-year-old hidea pendleton, an honor student and band major ret who participated in the inauguration festivities about a week before her death. hidea was the victim of random gun violence last week, fatally shot about a mile from the obamas' chicago-area home. no arrests have been made. >>> the big story of the day, that potentially historic blizzard bearing down on the northeast. if weather channel meteorologist jim cantore shows up in your town, that's got to be bad news. jim is live in boston for us this morning. what's the latest there? >> just to let you know how bad i think this one's going to be, i brought a yardstick.
while being grilled by the senate armed services committee, had any onpanetta strongly defended the pentagon's response to the benghazi attack that left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead. panetta told lawmakers there just wasn't enough time to get u.s. forces or attack aircraft to the scene. >>> today president obama will speak at a military farewell service for panetta. >>> michelle obama plans to travel to chicago to attend tomorrow's funeral for...
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Feb 4, 2013
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i should just say i think it's $500 and $500 billion on domestic and pentagon side. either way, there's not been really anything even near a deal to deal with sequestration, partially because of how it actually got constructed in the first place. initially, the idea behind the sequestration was it was the backstop for the super committee, meant to be the thing that neither party could allow to happen, thus it would force them to come to a deal in the super committee. obviously, they have been able to allow it to happen enough that they didn't come to a deal in the super committee and now they can't seem to find anything they like better, because republicans wouldn't allow tax increases in it and as such, they gave democrats spending cuts that are very friendly to democratic priorities, medicaid is fully exempted, social security is protected, veterans benefits and pell grants are protected. nobody has a really great incentive to change it because nobody has anything that they really like that much better. >> does that mean, because this is what's gotten us here, a te
i should just say i think it's $500 and $500 billion on domestic and pentagon side. either way, there's not been really anything even near a deal to deal with sequestration, partially because of how it actually got constructed in the first place. initially, the idea behind the sequestration was it was the backstop for the super committee, meant to be the thing that neither party could allow to happen, thus it would force them to come to a deal in the super committee. obviously, they have been...
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Feb 9, 2013
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pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. a lot of money that's going to be cut is money that was not asked for but the pentagon was put in by bloated congress people who wanted to do stuff for people in their district. i'm a fairly hawkish on defense, but this is an enterprise that hasn't been touched for 30 years and this may be our only chance. >> that's interesting sort of where the two sides come together, which is to say members of the progressive left think this is the only time we're going to get these defense cuts and deficit hawks, conservatives, tea partiers are putting moderate republicans in a bind saying this is cutting our deficit. let's go for it. >> the grand irony, of course, is the fact that the number -- if you poll people their number one issue is jobs, right? it continues to be jobs. and $120 billion austerity crunch, the numbers being bantered around, in exchange for the sequester, which is like $85 billion. whatever it is, right, that's a big chunk. that will have an effect, negative jobs effect, no qu
pentagon hasn't had any significant cuts for 30 years. a lot of money that's going to be cut is money that was not asked for but the pentagon was put in by bloated congress people who wanted to do stuff for people in their district. i'm a fairly hawkish on defense, but this is an enterprise that hasn't been touched for 30 years and this may be our only chance. >> that's interesting sort of where the two sides come together, which is to say members of the progressive left think this is the...
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Feb 5, 2013
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brennan and his speech at harvard by jay johnson, the former head -- the former lead counsel at the pentagon. and by eric holder today. but eric holder seemed to be either conflating or combining imminent threat with ongoing threat. tell me about the memo itself. >> that is exactly the rub. they have -- it is certainly true that administration officials, all those you mentioned, have articulated that it is the bottom administration policy that targeted killings of americans who are associated with al qaeda are lawful and constitutional under certain conditions, and the first concern is that the individual poses an imminent threat of a violent attack against the united states. in other words, capture is not feasible, and the operation is done according to law or principles. what this memo does, which is not something that has been public, is flesh that out and provide details about what they mean by that, and one of those striking points is when they get to defining imminent threat. they talk about a broader -- the memo explicitly says that they have intelligence that the targeted individual
brennan and his speech at harvard by jay johnson, the former head -- the former lead counsel at the pentagon. and by eric holder today. but eric holder seemed to be either conflating or combining imminent threat with ongoing threat. tell me about the memo itself. >> that is exactly the rub. they have -- it is certainly true that administration officials, all those you mentioned, have articulated that it is the bottom administration policy that targeted killings of americans who are...
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if he is confirmed, hagel would be the first former enlist the combat solder to head the pentagon. >>> in alabama, the hostage situation involving a 5-year-old boy has entered a third day. police say the alleged kidnapper is holding the boy at an underground bunker, wired with electricity and stocked with food. jimmy lee dykes is accused of taking that boy off a school bus after killing the driver. negotiators are talking to him through a pvc pipe. >>> snowmobiler caleb moore has died from injuries he suffered in an accident during the x games last weekend. the 25-year-old was hurt when his 450-pound snowmobile didn't complete a flip and landed on him. his death is the first in the 17-year history of the x games. espn issued a statement saying, "as a result of this accident, we will conduct a thorough review of this discipline and adopt any appropriate changes to future x games." >>> rescuers in mexico city are searching for possible survivors of an explosion at the state-owned oil company headquarters. at least 25 people have been killed. 100 injured. investigators say they don't kno
if he is confirmed, hagel would be the first former enlist the combat solder to head the pentagon. >>> in alabama, the hostage situation involving a 5-year-old boy has entered a third day. police say the alleged kidnapper is holding the boy at an underground bunker, wired with electricity and stocked with food. jimmy lee dykes is accused of taking that boy off a school bus after killing the driver. negotiators are talking to him through a pvc pipe. >>> snowmobiler caleb moore...
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Feb 7, 2013
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the pentagon's top brass pushed back on questions about the military response in benghazi. >> are you surprised that the president of the united states never called you secretary panetta, and says how is it going? >> you know, normally in these situations -- >> did he know the level of threat that -- >> let me finish the answer. we were deploying the forces. he knew we were deploying the forces. he was being kept -- >> i hate to intript you, but i have limited time. we didn't deploy any forces. >> it was over by the time -- >> mr. secretary, you didn't know how long the attack would last. did you ever call him and say, mr. president, it looks like we don't have anything to get there any time soon? >> the event was over before -- >> it lasted almost eight hours, and my question to you is during that eight-hour period did the president show any curiosity about how is this going, what kind of assets do you have helping these people? did he ever make that phone call? >> look, there is no question in my mind the president of the united states was concerned about american lives. >> well, al
the pentagon's top brass pushed back on questions about the military response in benghazi. >> are you surprised that the president of the united states never called you secretary panetta, and says how is it going? >> you know, normally in these situations -- >> did he know the level of threat that -- >> let me finish the answer. we were deploying the forces. he knew we were deploying the forces. he was being kept -- >> i hate to intript you, but i have limited...
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nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim maiklaszewski joins us now. what do we know? >> it's a tragic story in so many ways. this marine corps reservist, a 25-year-old by the name of eddie ray routh, is in custody facing two capital murder charges in the deaths of that former navy s.e.a.l. sniper, chris kyle, and a friend. but the police still cannot pinpoint a motive. now, friends say that it appeared that routh was suffering ptsd, post-traumatic stress, from his service in iraq, and kyle has a record of working directly with ptsd victims from the wars in iraq and afghanistan, and trying to help them. now, according to reports, this was the first time that kyle and his friend had ever met with routh and they were at a gun range about 50 miles outside of ft. worth saturday when suddenly without warning, routh allegedly pulled a hand gun and shot and killed both of the other men at point-blank range. he's in custody and there is reports that he had to be tasered in his cell overnight for some kind of disruption there in the texas jail, but the search is on for a motive
nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim maiklaszewski joins us now. what do we know? >> it's a tragic story in so many ways. this marine corps reservist, a 25-year-old by the name of eddie ray routh, is in custody facing two capital murder charges in the deaths of that former navy s.e.a.l. sniper, chris kyle, and a friend. but the police still cannot pinpoint a motive. now, friends say that it appeared that routh was suffering ptsd, post-traumatic stress, from his service in iraq, and...
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Feb 4, 2013
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the political swagger, if you will, that secretary of defense immediate to both operate inside the pentagon, and that's -- you heard robert gibbs, former press secretary yesterday say it was a little disconcerting watching him give those answers. they made a strategic decision not to have a debate with those republican senators. trying to not start fights, but was he too passive? >> there was a way to push back. david sanger, he could have said i disagree with you about the surge. senator mccain, you're my great friend, but let's talk about what's really going on. we have 66,000 troops at afghanistan right now. he didn't pivot. he didn't push back. he didn't fight. david brooks, your columnist in "the "new york times"" suggested to chuck this weekend that he should even go so far as saying to the president, mr. president, do you have second thoughts? should i withdraw? that's rather more than i would have expected at this point. >> you know, i think there were two remarkable elements to the testimony that former senator hagel gave. he seemed unprepared on basic issues. we were discussing ir
the political swagger, if you will, that secretary of defense immediate to both operate inside the pentagon, and that's -- you heard robert gibbs, former press secretary yesterday say it was a little disconcerting watching him give those answers. they made a strategic decision not to have a debate with those republican senators. trying to not start fights, but was he too passive? >> there was a way to push back. david sanger, he could have said i disagree with you about the surge. senator...
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Feb 1, 2013
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he had practiced at the pentagon. he had been working on this. but when he referred to containment on iran rather than prevention of nuclear weapons and had to be corrected and then corrected again, a note was passed to him, and then the chairman helpfully said to him, containment is not a policy at all. that is not our policy. that is such a critical mistake on an issue that he knew that he was going to be asked about. we knew that he was going to have to explain the, quote, jewish lobby and take that back and some of the other things. the way he did it didn't seem crisp. and then when ted cruz wheeled in the tv screen to play an al jazeera talk show and put him on the spot or how he defended israel or didn't defend israel in response to a question on a talk show, it would be like somebody saying to you or mika, joe, you were on c-span ten years ago, and what did you say to someone who called in? that was very, very tough. >> that was sort of my point at the top. >> it's interesting that you had said, mika, yesterday as we were going to a meetin
he had practiced at the pentagon. he had been working on this. but when he referred to containment on iran rather than prevention of nuclear weapons and had to be corrected and then corrected again, a note was passed to him, and then the chairman helpfully said to him, containment is not a policy at all. that is not our policy. that is such a critical mistake on an issue that he knew that he was going to be asked about. we knew that he was going to have to explain the, quote, jewish lobby and...
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not a lot of republicans would agree with that because the sequester would hurt the pentagon. that's why they're talking about the d.c. area. >> can you raise my hand and say i'm one republican that would agree with that? we've got to cut defense spending. >> we have to. >> we've got to, and we've got to cut spending. >> willy-nilly, though. so the sequester is willy-nilly, isn't it? you wouldn't want to cut having the sequester do it? >> didn't congress make the sequester? >> that was a carrot and stick situation. the sequester is the stick. >> the problem is you can't get the president of the united states to put alternative cuts on the board. he'll talk in generalities. and the republicans and the democrats don't trust each other. so yes, i don't like the ad hoc approach, but given the choice between an ad hoc approach and no approach at all with trillion-dollar deficits every year, i choose cuts. but let's talk about this. how badly do you think it will hurt the economy? you think "the wall street journal's" underselling it? >> i do think they're underselling it. first, ha
not a lot of republicans would agree with that because the sequester would hurt the pentagon. that's why they're talking about the d.c. area. >> can you raise my hand and say i'm one republican that would agree with that? we've got to cut defense spending. >> we have to. >> we've got to, and we've got to cut spending. >> willy-nilly, though. so the sequester is willy-nilly, isn't it? you wouldn't want to cut having the sequester do it? >> didn't congress make the...
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Feb 8, 2013
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you have to do all the sequester in a hurry, then yes, it's a real problem because it doesn't let the pentagon begin to plan and distribute, if you will, the cuts. but at the end of the day, whether it's defense spending, education spending, health spending, what always matters more than how much you spend is how you spend it. and so i'm not, at the end of the day, all that worried about how much we spend, whether it's on defense or anything else. you just want to have the time to make some intelligent cuts rather than have to make them literally in a matter of days which would probably mean that readiness more than anything else would be cut out of the defense department account. and that's probably the one thing you don't want cut out of it. >> sam stein, you're close and yet so far away over there at the jump seat. what are the odds that the sequester actually takes place? we know the president's proposed something to push them back a while. are we going to see these kind of cuts, the ones that were outlined in the sequester proposal? >> i think the odds are pretty high, to be hone. i don't
you have to do all the sequester in a hurry, then yes, it's a real problem because it doesn't let the pentagon begin to plan and distribute, if you will, the cuts. but at the end of the day, whether it's defense spending, education spending, health spending, what always matters more than how much you spend is how you spend it. and so i'm not, at the end of the day, all that worried about how much we spend, whether it's on defense or anything else. you just want to have the time to make some...